The next day went about as well as Jon could expect. She showered quickly, Had a simple meal of yogurt and fruit, then trotted to school alone. As much as she liked the man, Coach Dunning mercifully refrained from calling her out in class, and she was able to distract herself with her phone enough to survive until study hall. It may not be a computer, but it certainly had it's own appeal... An appeal she never quite got before. For the first time in her life, she indulged in the somewhat guilty pleasure of rifling through "Allison's" facebook friends wall for months into the past.
Ryder texted her when study hall began. She promptly responded.
"Hey bb."
"Im at the spot ;)"
"Been too long sweetheart."
"Sorry Ryder."
"I still have homework to do."
"after?"
"Its a lot."
"after school?"
"not today"
Jon had to think about how to word the excuse.
"I'm tutoring under an upperclassman"
"Who?"
"Does it matter?"
"Is it a guy?"
Jon sighed with exasperation.
"its karen"
"have fun"
Jon sighed and leaned back in his chair as Joshue plopped into the seat next to her. "Something wrong?"
"It's Ryder. He's just so overbearing."
Josh fidgets somewhat nervously in his seat. "Well... Why are you with him?"
"God, I wish I knew." Jon laughs. Joshua laughs. "Can you help me with this stuff now?"
"Sure, same stuff as yesterday?"
"yeah, I got most of them, it's just these short ones threw me off."
Joshua beams as he settles into the comfortable place of explaining the finer points of algebra, and to Jon's contentment, she's able to learn. She knew she was just rusty, but with a bit of help, she'll be just as good as before. They finish quickly, and spend most of the class joking about video games and old movies.
"You know, if you like Mystery Science Theatre," Joshua begins, "I found this pulpy old movie called Sword and Sorcery that has an awesome satire track to play along with it."
"Yeah? It's been a while since I've seen any of those."
"Oh dude! You have to come over and watch it with me! I haven't laughed so hard in months."
Jon beams at being called dude for a change. "Sounds great!"
"You want to come over today?"
"Yeah! Definitely!" Jon pauses. "I... Yeah, I can come over, I just have to meet a friend at my place first. There's something I have to take care of."
"Of course. What's your number." Joshua sits a little straighter in his chair, and his face is tense. Jon takes no notice as she opens up her phone.
"Ugh. I don't even know. Here, let me see if I can find it..." As he looks through his smart phone he wonders... Should I give him my old number from before I was a girl? It doesn't really matter either way, she concludes. He's not going to get in touch with her either way. She'll just have to find him tomorrow when she's no longer a she.
She gives him her number right as the bell rings. Neither of them notice as Ryder slips out of the door before either can pack their backpacks. His jaw is set, and teeth grinding...
Thanks to facebook stalking Allison's friends, Jon finds it surprisingly easy to sit with the girls friends. She has to listen more than speak, and she catches herself on the receiving end of laughter more than once after a social faux pas, but clearly did well enough to pass as Allison. When the final bell rings, Jon practically sprints home, eager to meet Karen there with her old computer...
